Levitate || Joshler

f i f t e e n ☄️

As the trio was making their way out of the forest, thanks to Tyler's mysterious directions, Josh took a moment to admire the boy he had loved for a long time.

He began to remember when they first met, and when they discovered their strong connection, all beginning with the touch of their hands, then at the touch of their lips.

He remembered being confused of Tyler's appearance, because he looked so much like an angelic boy, who in reality was a flower that bloomed, and it made him love him even more.

Now, he's a Bandito, with the strength of evergreens and bushes. He could detect nature by the touch of his hand, and surprisingly, with amphibians as well.

As Tyler continued to lead them out, Kai walked closely with his master.

"My Tyler give you a fright back there?" Josh asked.

Kai gave him a disturbed look.

"Don't ask me about it, my lord."

"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm."

"Probably not, but licking a toad didn't soothe me well."

Josh chuckled.

"He's the love of my life."

Kai began to process his thoughts towards Linh, the woman that he's been with for months.

The woman he had grown to love.

Of course, he did love Linh, but still doesn't feel that he's ready to tell her. She had once been a married woman, who had a wife who loved her dearly, but now it was never the same again. Kai hoped, that maybe someday if he were to tell Linh of his feelings, he could give her more love than Lilac Stasiuk ever gave her.

Then, he focused his thoughts of Linh towards his master and his flower.

"Do you see yourself having a future with Tyler?" He asked.

Josh didn't think for a moment when he said his answer.

"Yes, I do."

"Then, if you love him, have you considered entering the covenant of marriage with him?"

Josh stopped himself. He hadn't been asked about marrying Tyler, or even considering marriage, but this was something that he had accidentally left out.

He and Tyler had been together for almost a year, and they both loved each other dearly. He wanted so badly to fulfill the promise of bringing Tyler home once Dema is defeated. However, as the leader, his oath is a lifetime commitment that mustn't be broken.

If he left, he would be labeled as a traitor, and possibly be killed.

Maybe, if Tyler would agree, they could get married as Banditos, and his flowered husband would be named his heir.

These predictive thoughts made Josh smile brighter than he had in a long time. Kai looked at him and took notice.

"My lord, did my question offend you?"

Josh chuckled.

"My dear Kai, why would it offend me?"

"I-I don't know, sir."

"Well, to answer your question, of course I want to marry Tyler, and if I did, I would name him my heir."

"Do you think he'd agree?" Kai asked.

Josh pointed the Bandito's attention to the flower child, who was walking among the group, with Ari at his side.

"Look at my darling." He said. "He's come a long way, and what he demonstrated back there, it proves that he's ready to grow."

He looked back at Kai.

"And, by marrying him, it seals the deal."

Kai also took in Josh's consideration. He started to ponder on making his love to Linh official.

~

However, before anymore could be discussed, Tyler instructed the group to stop. Josh and Kai ran to the front and stood next to him.

"What's going on, dear?" Josh asked.

"I feel something." Tyler told him. "In the air."

Kai examined the breeze, but couldn't find anything.

"I can't feel anything." He said.

"Neither do I." Ari added.

Suddenly, there were more than a dozen vultures that zoomed through the sky, right above the heads of the group. They looked up and saw them, which told them that they were being watched.

Then, faint but little whispered echoed within their bodies.

"They're surrounded." A high pitched voice said.

"Let's take them out, but keep the boy alive." A low pitched voice added. "He's our prize to master Nico."

Hearing those words, Josh had seemed to recognize them, but there was no time to make conclusions.

He took Tyler's hand into his grasp.

"We have to get out of here."

The group started running, and that's when the spears reamed towards them.

Josh shielded Tyler from the blows, while Kai and Ari, along with the three scouting men, blocked the spears that were aiming at them.

After what seemed like minutes of running, the group finally escaped from the woods, and were back in the mountains of Trench.

Josh still held his sweet child close to him, while Kai and Ari took a few moments to catch their breaths.

"What the hell just happened in there?" Ari asked.

"We were ambushed." Kai told him. "That's what happened."

"Yes." Josh said; still holding Tyler. "Someone was watching us, and intended to kill us."

He took a deep breath, then looked off into the distance mountains of Trench.

"And, I think I know who it was."